


We Got That Power!

by luckybyun



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-10
Updated: 2018-02-10
Packaged: 2019-03-16 05:56:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,094
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13630062
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/luckybyun/pseuds/luckybyun
Summary: It's his fifteenth week into the semester, and Chanyeol can't seem to figure out why his powers aren't working





	We Got That Power!

There was a random flurry of movements, a lot of nervous scuffling as Chanyeol tries to balance himself on his own two feet. His inner adrenaline was pulsing violently, and with another stealthy jump, he manages to dodge another one of the attacker's blows, tumbling forward on the dirt before quickly jumping back into his defensive position. Still, it wasn't enough to slow down the mechanical bot chasing after him. He's been running for quite some time now, and the energy was slowly draining out of him. He was tired, has been for the past fifteen minutes or so — he couldn't really keep count.

"On your left!" Screams an unfamiliar voice sitting up somewhere along the bleachers. Chanyeol doesn't get the chance to look up though, because the bot's superhuman speed manages to finally catch up to him, mechanical arms ready to spew out its element. By then, it's already too late, but Chanyeol decides to try anyways, closing his eyes tightly shut and clenching his hands together.

There's a slight burning in his core — very faint, but still there — and he takes a deep breath. The rest of the world slows down as he feels all the elements slowly coming to him, one by one. Thoughts of anger and agression enter through his bloodstream, and when he finally thinks he's ready to strike, he lunges forward with a shout...

Only to have it change to a girly, high-pitched scream when a bucket of icy water splashes over his head and trails all the way down from his shoulders to his shoes. Chanyeol finally opens his eyes and peers down to find himself soaking wet, his clothes now drenched and sticking against his skin. When he lifts his head up, he sees that everyone in the stadium is staring down at him. Some are laughing, others are whispering quietly behind the back of their hands, but for the most part he can feel his face heating up. He wants to run away and hide, but the only exits around him are currently barred, and he has to wait another few excruciating minutes before the coach flies over to blow the whistle.

"Aaaaaaand the hero is dead!" The woman declares into the microphone. Her voice booms across the entire room and causes the building to rumble and shake before it stands still. She looks down at Chanyeol with a shrug, "Sorry, kiddo. Looks like you've been defeated another round." She clicks her tongue in disapproval as she marks an 'F' next to Chanyeol's name. "We're going to need to have a talk in my office later this week."

Chanyeol kicks his shoe against the dirt and plucks up the courage to ask, "Is there any way you can let me go again?"

"We're running out of time," she replies with a shake of her head, "I have a handful of other students who need to take their exam too... Now go to the lockers and get yourself cleaned up."

The boy nods silently, staring down at the ground. He's disappointed in himself, especially when he's already tried three times — all of which he failed miserably. The coach gives a tired sigh, but knowing there wasn't much she can do, she moves on to the next student, "Hyunjae, you're up. Hurry down here to the arena before I fail you too!"

She flies off before Chanyeol can look up. The amount of energy he had earlier in the day was long gone, and now he's too defeated to even say much after that embarrassing round, which had been even worse than the previous two. His feet drag along the dirt as he makes his way over to one of the tunnels, the iron gates rising up slowly for him to pass through.

Around him, bots and dummies lay scattered across the floor of the arena. Some contain earth elements or water elements, others contain simple explosives that were meant to stun the opponent. It doesn't really matter that much to Chanyeol though, because for the past hour and a half, not once had he been able to pass a single round.

At this point, Chanyeol was losing all hope in himself. He stares down at his hands in frustration — at his palms which were now all calloused and slightly scarred from the countless number of times he'd fallen down. For the most part, he still couldn't understand the fact that his powers were pretty much nonexistent. It was quite normal for students to not show any signs of powers for the first few weeks, but now they were nearing the end of the semester, and Chanyeol hasn't shown any type of progress ever since he was enrolled.

 

 

\---

 

 

"Cheer up, Yeol," Minseok calls out as he trails after him, his short legs trying to keep up with Chanyeol's much longer ones. A white cloud follows right behind Minseok's back, leaving traces of snow and ice on the ground and making a few students slip and fall on their bottoms. "I'm sure you'll get it next time..."

"But when is 'next time'?" Chanyeol asks more to himself than to Minseok. He has his hands clenched in his hair, almost ready to pull out strands of his pink locks, but he decides not to after that, and his arms end up falling back to the ground as they both make their way to the lockers. "We're in our fifteenth week and I still can't figure out why my powers haven't shown up yet." It frustrates him to this very day, and the thought of coming back to his parents and telling them that he still hasn't been able to use his powers has his shoulders sinking. They'd probably be so disappointed in him once they find out.

As soon as he makes it to his locker, he softly slams his forehead against the cool metal and takes a seat on the wired bench that stretches down the aisle. He leaves it there for a while, lost in his own train of thought. "...What if they kick me out? What if they think I'm just a waste of time and replace me with someone else who's more capable of showing their powers..."

"They won't kick you out," the older boy replies with a stern frown, and he reaches a hand out to pat Chanyeol gently on the shoulder. "A lot of these people here don't have their powers yet either, so you shouldn't beat yourself up about it. Everyone goes at their pace... And who knows," Minseok shrugs, "maybe your power might be better than others. There are students who have been here for _years_ , Chanyeol. Heroes like Hercules didn't immediately jump into the world and start saving people. He trained for weeks and months to get to where he was. And I'm sure there are plenty of other underdogs that were able to come out on top because they took their time and waited. I'm sure you'll be one of those too..."

"I highly doubt that," a voice from afar sings proudly.

Chanyeol closes his eyes with a groan, his face falling into the open palm of his hands as he sits there hunched over. He recognizes that voice from anywhere — has been through hell and back from this one particular person. The sound of the boy's annoying voice alone is enough to have his blood boiling, and he looks up just as Baekhyun skips over to the two of them, the latter whistling a happy tune with his hands tucked in his pockets.

He beams happily at them both, then turns all of his attention to Chanyeol, leaning forward with his hands behind his back like a mother bending down to a small child. "Heard about your little escapade in the arena earlier. Must've been hard for you. Imagine the bots being actual people. You'd probably be dead right then and there."

"Ha ha," Chanyeol laughs drily, though he hardly found Baekhyun's remark funny at all. He stands up to open his locker after turning the combination, then stuffs his books and papers into his backpack. "You're a kidder, Byun. Now get out of the way."

"Or else what?" Baekhyun steps in front of Chanyeol. When the latter scoots over to the right, he follows suit.

"Baekhyun..." Chanyeol snarls out after he shifts to the left. Just as he'd expected, Baekhyun happily hops over and blocks his way once more, the shorter boy grinning like it was the funniest skit in the entire world.

Baekhyun peers up at him innocently, his bottom lip jutted in a pout. It's vomit-worthy, really, and Chanyeol has to stop himself from rolling his eyes. "What? It's not like you can do anything, right? Since you don't have any powers and all..."

By now Chanyeol was practically seething, his entire body slowly trembling with rage; all because of a pesky little rat standing in front of him and refusing to move. He could really do it... Baekhyun was right; he may not have any powers at the moment, but a good, solid punch right in Baekhyun's nose would be able to do the trick, just to scare him off a little... But before he could even think of raising his fist, Minseok already has a hand on his shoulder. With a strong tug, he manages to drag Chanyeol down the opposite end of the hallway. "Just ignore him. He's not even worth it."

"Oh, he might be," Chanyeol mumbles under his breath. The same level of fire he had felt earlier in the arena ignites inside of him once again. If only he had his powers... so he could blast this little jerk out the window. Nothing happens though. He's still standing there, ready to explode, and Baekhyun is patiently staring up at him with a playful grin and his hands behind his back. He knows for a fact that Chanyeol can't do anything about it.

"No, Chanyeol, stop it," Minseok hisses out, grabbing the taller boy by the arm and forcefully pulling him away. "Let's go before you get in trouble."

It takes every ounce of energy inside of him to finally listen to his best friend's words, and he bites down on the inside of his cheek before falling behind Minseok. From behind, he can still hear Baekhyun's squeaky voice calling out for him as he rounds the corner of the hallway. "See you later, Chanyeol. Catch up with you on the flip side!"

 

 

\---

 

 

The anger that was initially bubbling inside of Chanyeol is still there, but Minseok knows better than to let go. He continues tugging the taller boy forward until they're finally out onto the open campus. The cool air is enough for Chanyeol to relax and breathe a little, and he takes a shaky breath, lowering his head to help calm himself down. It's helping a little bit, along with Minseok patting him on the shoulder and patiently waiting for him to cool off, and he finally opens his eyes with a heavy sigh.

For a minute he feels like he's in his element, the sun radiating warmth against his skin as Minseok orders them both to take a few minutes to walk around so he can clear his head. Minseok's snowy trail continues to grow and spread as they stroll along the campus walkway, instructors and students slipping wildly when their feet meets the ice, but the older boy pays no mind — not even when a white-bearded professor takes a heavy tumble and ends up throwing all of his papers in the air. The campus grounds are soon covered in a white blanket of printed documents and soft snowflakes.

Minseok frowns as he peers up at Chanyeol. "You know that's what he wants, right? To see you get all upset and angry at him. He likes taunting you, Yeol, and you should know better than to try and pick a fight with him."

"But he started it first!" Chanyeol snaps, but then quickly clamps his mouth shut. He runs a hand through his frazzled hair, heaving a large sigh as they head over to an empty spot along the grass. After contemplating about it a bit further, Chanyeol decides to take a seat on the ground. He needs a moment to breathe, to maybe not think for a while, but Minseok is staring down at him with his arms folded across his chest, waiting for a reply. He shrugs his shoulders and gives a shaky laugh, "I mean... I don't know. He just pisses me off sometimes. You obviously saw what he did even when I tried to ignore him."

"Yeah, I saw. And giving a reaction to his dumb antics obviously makes him want to pick on you even more," Minseok grumbles out. "Can you at least try and ignore him completely?" When Chanyeol doesn't respond, he continues. "This is how it's going to turn out. He'll pick on you and see that you're not responding to him. And when he's no longer satisfied, he'll find somebody else to pick on."

Chanyeol gives a quiet nod, and the frown that had been on Minseok's face for the duration of the time they'd been sitting outside changes into a small smile of encouragement. He pats him on the shoulder once again, fingers warm against Chanyeol's back despite the frost and ice floating behind him. "You'll be fine. Just focus on you and it'll come eventually."

"Yeah, I guess," Chanyeol shrugs, then adds under his breath, "but I don't really know what I'm going to say to my parents." He cringes at the thought, knowing how eager his parents had been to see his potential ever since he was accepted and enrolled into the school. Both his mom and dad along with his family's past generations have had strong powers, having the ability to manipulate fire, light, and other types of elements that were beyond imaginable. To have a son that showed no signs of special abilities could possibly tarnish the family name.

Minseok pauses for a brief moment before he sighs, not knowing what else to say. It was hard to come up with the right response sometimes, but then again, Chanyeol had always liked the older boy for being so blunt. "Then they'll just have to understand the situation. You're just a late bloomer, that's all there is to it."

The school bell chimes in the distance and Minseok bites on his bottom lip, checking the large clock tower from the distance. He sighs after seeing what time it was. "Aw, man... I have to go help train the younger kids in the junior building." He turns to Chanyeol, "Wanna come with?"

He really doesn't want to... Chanyeol had tagged along a few times before, just to see what it was like, and seeing the little kids being able to effortlessly conjure up their powers had ended up souring his mood. It was already bad enough that he wasn't able to produce his own.

Chanyeol shakes his head no, then slowly gets up from the ground, brushing the strands of dirt and grass from the bottom of his pants. "I think I'll just head up to my room. I have a lot of work I need to catch up on."

"Oh... okay then," Minseok says with a soft attempt of a motivating smile, then starts heading back towards the school, "I'll catch up with you then."

"Later," Chanyeol calls out. Once Minseok is far away enough, he makes his way over to the dormitories by himself, unsure of what to think or do as he climbs up the flight of stairs. And as he rounds the corner of the hallway, he doesn't notice the smaller figure walking up to him until he feels something solid ram against his chest, forcing him to take a few steps with a grunt. Chanyeol blinks back at the shorter boy standing in front of him, then rolls his eyes when he sees that it was only Baekhyun.

"Well, hello there," Baekhyun playfully grins up at Chanyeol. "Fancy seeing you around these parts."

"Yeah, well... I live here," Chanyeol shrugs. It was probably best if he were to keep their conversation short and simple. Interacting with Byun Baekhyun was the least exciting thing he could think of at the moment, but when he steps to the side and tries to walk past, Baekhyun blocks his path with a grin. Rolling his eyes again, Chanyeol steps to the right... only to have the shorter boy hop in front of him for the second time.

He sighs. "Can you get out of the way?"

"What?" Baekhyun asks with a dramatic hand on his chest. He blinks his wide, innocent eyes back up at Chanyeol, "Go right ahead. I'm not doing anything."

"Okay," Chanyeol nods, moving to the open space. Baekhyun slides over and bumps into him once more.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, Minseok's voice continues to ring and echo, as if he was hovering right above him and watching his every move.

" _Just ignore him_ ," he repeats over and over again. " _He's not even worth it_."

" _Or you can fuck him up_ ," another voice casually jumps in. It sounded a lot like him now that he thinks about it... " _Personally I'd go with that, but who knows, Yeol, it's all up to you.._."

"Wow," Baekhyun grins to himself. He waves a hand over Chanyeol's unblinking face, "All that practice from earlier must've sucked the last few brain cells left in your tiny skull."

"...Just move," Chanyeol murmurs. Before he can even think, he's shoving Baekhyun out of his path and walking down the hallway.

He almost forgets that Baekhyun was ever standing behind him, but that brief second immediately changes when he feels his own two feet slipping in the air, his face landing straight to the floor. His front teeth smack against the wooden floorboards, and he rolls onto his back with a painful grunt, touching his bottom lip and looking at the blood on his fingers. When he lifts his head up, he catches Baekhyun dropping the end of the carpet back to the floor before he quickly dashes down the corner.

" _Fuck_ — Baekhyun!" Chanyeol screams out. He tries to get up, but there's a sudden pain pounding against the side of his skull, and the back of his head lands against the floors once more. Even from the distance, he can faintly hear Baekhyun's annoying, nasally voice cackling loudly as he makes his escape down the hallway.


End file.
